Tapered plug valve



Sept..28, 1943. v a. D. JOHNSON 2,330,493

TAPERED PLUG VALVE I Filed June 12 1942 3 sheets-smug v Zmventor a. D. JOHNSON a Mm E (I torneg Sept. 28, 1943. ca. 1:. JOHNSON TAPERED PLUG VALVE v Filed June 12. 1942 s Sqe'ets-Sheet 2 N v wwm m SI & '7

1 Snbentor G-D.JOHN$ON Ottomeg Patented Sept. '1'943 1 UNITED STA ES PATENT F I Morgan Smith Company, York, Pa, a corpora- 4 tion of Pennsylvania Application June 12, 1942, Serial No. 446,792

4, Claims. (Cl. 251 101) This invention relates to valves and more particularly to valves of the type having conical or tapered plugs forcontrollingthe flow of fluid jtherethroug h.

ment, the plug is then moved axially and wedged orreseated. Any suitable, mechanism (not shown) may be .used for operating the plug, since such mechanism'is well known in the art.

Referring to the drawings, the improved valve An object of the invention is to provide an im- '5 comprises a main body'or casing l I having a cavproved tapered plug valve, in which the valve ity l2 formed therein for a tapered plug IS, the plug is provided with means by which forces fromcavity l2 being intersected by a longitudinal the fluid on the high pressure side of the valve waterway or opening H which constitutes a pasplug are utilized to assist the valve operating sage through the valve. The plug l3 has a pasmechanism to rotate the valve plug. 1o sage l6 formed therein of substantially the same Another object of the invention is to provide an diameter as the diameter of thevalve passage improved tapered plug valve, in which the valve M, so that when the plug I3 is in the open posiplug has a v'ane formed thereon in such a man- I tion, auniform bore will extend through the er that during the turning movement of the valvefrom end to end. 1 v I valve plug from closed-towards open position, the The taperedfiplug I3 is supported for both fluid under pressure on the high pressure side ofaxial and rotary movement in the valve body H. the valve will engage the vanewith sufficient At its inner or smaller end, the plug I3 is force to assist the valve operating mechanism to formed with an extension, which constitutes a rotate the valve plug' v trunnion which is mounted in-an opening 2| Another object of the invention is to provide 20 formed in a boss 22 of the valve body ll. 3 an improved tapered plug valve, in which means At its outer or. larger end, the plug l3 has an are provided for hydraulically balancing the valve extension 23' formed with a, bore 24 in which is plug. 1 t mounted ,one end of a shaft 25. The shaft 25 Another object of the invention is to provide which is operatively connected to the valve operan improved tapered plug valve, in which the in- 25 ating mechanism (not shown), may be connected herent closing torque which develops during 110- to the plug I3 by means of apin 26. tation of the valve plug towards open position is The extension 23, which constitutes a truneliminated. nion, is mounted in an opening 21 formed in a Another object of the invention is to provide boss IBdepending from the underside of a cover an improved tapered plug valve, in which one side plate or web 29 which encloses the larger end of the valve plug is formed with means adapted of the valve body ll. to create a balancing torqueduring rotation of The cover plate or web-29 maybea part of the valve plug towards open position. Y the housing 30 of the valve mechanism,

With'the foregoing and other objects and ad- The housing 30 may be formed with a periphvantages in view, the invention consists in the 5 eral flange 31 for engaging a correspondingly preferred construction and arrangement of the formed fiange 32 of the valve body' llfso that several parts which will be hereinafter fully desaid housing can be detachably secured to said scribed-and claimed. valve body. by meansof bolts or the like (not In the "accompanying drawings: shown) in well known manner.

Fig. 1 is a section through a valve embodying 40 In constructing the plug l3, a cylinder 35 is the present invention, the plug being shown in used for forming the waterway IS. The cylin- 'closed position; I I der 35 is arranged in the conical body 350i the Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of plug with the longitudinal axis of the cylin- Fig. 1; and I drical waterway disposed at right angles to the Fig. 3 is a" diagrammatic sectional view of the 145 longitudinal axis of theconical body- 36. Thus,

' structure-shown in Fig. 2, the plug being shown as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, when the valve plug partly open. 1 I3 is disposed in a .vertical position, the arrange- The presentinvention relates to tapered plug ment oi the waterway IS in said body issuch that valves, in which. during the operation of the the cylinder 35 is horizontally disposed with revalve, the conical plug is first imwedged from spect. to the vertical conical body 36. itsseat by moving the plug in'a: straight line Each end of the cylinder 35 is open so that axially.. Afterthe plug is unseated it is turned the waterway 5 extends unobstructedly through the desired angle to either its open or its closed the valve plug. At each end of the cylinder 35 position. At the completion of the rotary movethe wall of the conical body 36 merges with the end of the cylindrical wall, However, -intermediate the length of the cylinder 33, its wall is spaced from the conical wall of the body 38 in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In order to reinforce the body of the valve plug I3, in the case of large valves, it is customary to connect the cylindrical wall 35 with the conical wall 36, by one or more webs 31. In the instant case only a single web 31 is shown (see Figs. 1

and 2). However, it will be understood that as many webs 31 may be employed as isnecessary to provide a strong and rigid plug.

The web or rib 31 is shown as being arranged at right angles to the longitudinal center line of the waterway I8, and said web extends vertically oi the valve plug body from a point adjacent to the top to a point adjacent to the bottom of said body.

According to the present invention, a portion of the conical wall 36 of the valve plug body i3 is eliminated or omitted, and in lieu thereof the valve plug body is formed with a vane 38.

As shown in Fig. 2, the vane 38 may be diametrically disposed with respect to the web or rib 31, said vane extending, as shown in Fig. 1, between an upper arcuate flanged portion 39 and a lower arcuate flanged portion 40. The flanges 39 and 40 merge with the conical wall 36 and all of these elements encircle the valve plug body in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The improved construction of the valve plug body also includes a wall composed of two parts, indicated at 4|, 42. This wall is disposed substantially in parallel relationship to the inclined angle of the conical wall 36, but said wall 4|, 42 is arranged as extensions of one of the side walls of the cylinder 35'. r In other words, the flat,

straight wall 4|, 42 is disposed at an angle with respect to the vertical rotative axis of the valve plug. The vane 38 extends outwardly from the wall 4|, 42. At the upper end of the valve plug the space between the upper portion of the wall 4|, 42 and the arcuate flange 39 is closed by a horizontal wall or web 43. Likewise, the space between the lower arcuate flange 40 and the lower portion of the wall 4|, 42, is closed by a horizontal wall or web 44.

The arrangement of the vane 33 and the walls 4|, 42, 43 and 44, is such that pockets 45 and 46 are provided at one side of the valve plug for the purpose to be hereinafter more fully described (see Fig. 3.)

In order to provide means for sealing the joint between the valve plug l3 and the valve body when the plug is in closed position, the conical ,wall 36 of the valve plug is formed with a sealing ring 41 which is adapted to engage with a corresponding ring 48 formed on the wall of the cavity 2 and surrounding the waterway H at one end of the valve body II, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the conventional type of tapered plug valve, when the conical plug is being rotated from closed towards open position, there is set up a hydraulic unbalance resulting from a combination of low pressure to high pressure areas on the surfaces of the waterway, which combination of pressures tends to rotate the valve plug in a closing direction. This unbalance of the pressures must be overcome by the operating mechanism of the valve. Consequently, it is of advantage to decrease the operating torque of a vane 43 and associated parts arranged in the manner heretofore described, when the plug I3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 3, towards open position, high pressure fluid from the conduit on the upstream side of the valve enters the pocket 45, impinges against the vane 33, and acts against the plug so as to balance the rotating effect.

tapered plug valve so that a corresponding decrease can be had in the operating power of the mechanism, with the-resultant lower costs of That is to say, when a conventional waterway is used in thevalve plug. a torque resulting from the couple of forces P (Fig. 3) exists. To balance this rotating effect, the vane 38 is used,

valve plug towards open position in such a manner as to overcome the inherent closing torque. Thus, the amount of power required of the mechanism for operating theimproved valve of the present invention is considerably less than the amount of power required to operate a conventional tapered plug valve.

During the rotation of the valve plug towards open position, fluid leaking from the pocket 45 past the periphery of the vane 38 into pocket 48, will be vented through the space between the valve plug I3 and the wall of the cavity |2 into the low pressure side of the conduit in which the valve is installed. Thus, in actual practice, during operation of the valve plug in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 3, pocket 45 functions as a high pressure chamber and pocket 46 functions as a low pressure chamber.

While I have described the invention in great detail and with respect to the present preferred form thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereto since changes and modifications may be made' therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A plug valve of the type described, comprising a body having a passage therethrough, a conical cavity formed in said body and intersecting said passage, a valve plug rotatably mounted in said cavity, said plug having a waterway therethrough for registration with the passage when the plug is in open position, and a vane projecting outwardly from a side wall of said plug at a substantially right angle to the longitudinal center line of the waterway, said vane being disposed within the confines of the seat provided by the conical wall of said valve body cavity by a suflicient amount to allow a flow clearance between the vane and the seat, whereby the impact of the fluid against the vane which is effective on the plug is due to the change of velocity of the fluid by the vane as the fluid flows through the clearance between the plug and the wall or the cavity during rotation 01 the plug to- I wards open position in opposition to the pressure present in said waterway which tends to rotate said plug in a closing direction.

2. A plug'valve of the type described, comprising a body having a passage therethrough, a cavity formed in said body and intersecting said'passage, a seat formed on the wall oi said cavity and surrounding the passage opening in said body, a valve plug rotatably mounted in said cavity, said plug having a waterway therethrough for registration with said passage when the plug is in open position, said plug having a seat on one side thereof for registration with said valve body seat to close said passage, and a member formed on the exterior of the side or said plug opposite to the side having said seat, said member being disposed within the confines oi! the wall of said cavity by a sufllcient amount to allow a flow clearance between the member and the cavity wall, whereby the impact of fluid against the member which is eflective on the plug is due'to the change of velocity of the fluid by the member as the fluid flows through the clearance between the plug and the wall of the cavity during rotation of the plug towards open position in opposition to the pressure present in said waterway which tends to rotate said plug in a closing direction.

3. A plug valve of the type described, comprising a body having a passage therethrough, a cavity formed in said bodyv and intersecting said passage, a plug rotatably mounted in said cavity, said plug having a waterway therethrouah tor registration with the passage when the plug is in open position-am: a vane disposed on the exterior of a side wall of said plug, said vane being arranged within the confines of the seat provided by the wall. of said cavity by a sufficient amount to' allow a flow clearance between the vane and the seat, whereby the impact of the fluid against the vane which is effective on the plug is due to of the plug the change of velocity of the fluid by the vane as the fluid flows through the clearance between the plug and the wall of the cavity during rotation towards open position in opposition to the pressure present in the waterway which tends to rotate the plug in a closing direction.

4. A plug valve of the type described, comprising a body having a passage therethrough, a' cavity formed in said body and intersecting said passage, a valve plug rotatably mounted in said cavity, said plug having a waterway therethrough for registration with the passage when the plug is in open position. and a member projecting outwardly from a side wall 01 said plug, said member being disposed within the confines of the seat provided by the wall of said cavity by a sufljlcient amount to allow a flow clearance between the member and the seat, whereby the impact of the fluid against the member which is eflective on the plug is due to the change of velocity oi the fluid by the member as the fluid flows through the clearance between the plug and the wall of the cavity during rotation 01 the plug towards open position in opposition to the pressure present in said waterwaywhich tends to rotate the plug in a closing direction.

GEORGE DUGAN JOHNSON. 

